Essential Cases: EU Law provides a bridge between course textbooks and key case judgments. This case document summarizes the facts and decision in Association belge des Consommateurs Test-Achats and others v Council (Case C-236/09), EU:C:2011:100, [2011] ECR I-773, 1 March 2011. The document also includes supporting commentary from author Noreen O'Meara.
Chapter
Association belge des Consommateurs Test-Achats and others v Council (Case C-236/09), EU:C:2011:100, [2011] ECR I-773, 1 March 2011
Chapter
15. Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Michael O’Flaherty
This chapter examines the human rights protections afforded to sexual and gender minorities. It shows that the jurisprudence focuses on issues of non-discrimination and privacy, and that important human rights protections can also be derived from the range of other civil, political, economic, social, and cultural human rights of general application. The chapter examines a recent exercise in the clarification of the application of human rights law concerning issues of sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics: the Yogyakarta Principles.
Chapter
14. Criminal process values
This chapter reflects upon the values that appear to dominate the English criminal process, the values that ought to dominate it, and how change might be brought about, in the context of austerity and diminishing resource allocation for both economic and ideological reasons. Specifically, it considers the avoidance of criminal trials, as well as the principled approach to criminal justice. The purpose of the criminal process is to bring about accurate determinations through fair procedures. The approach therefore emphasizes various rights and principles that ought to be safeguarded. The chapter then covers discrimination and non-discrimination, as well as promoting the principled approach.
Chapter
6. General principles of law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights
This chapter discusses the overarching principles of the Union legal order, e.g. subsidiarity, proportionality, sustainability and equality; fundamental human rights in the Union (Court of Justice jurisdiction over Member State acts and rights against Union institutions or agents); and principles of administrative justice and good governance (legal certainty, non-retroactivity and legitimate expectations, rights of process and natural justice, transparency and legal professional privilege).
Chapter
11. Equality and non-discrimination
This chapter examines equality and non-discrimination in international human rights law. It discusses the provisions of human rights laws, conventions, and declarations, and emerging grounds of discrimination will also be considered. As human rights are focused on the individual, it is perhaps not surprising that there are many people who are disadvantaged or marginalized in the enjoyment of their rights and freedoms due to the intersecting of two or more grounds of discrimination. The chapter suggests that there is a link between the concepts of equality and that of non-discrimination, and that the rule of non-discrimination is basically the negative restatement of the principle of equality.
Chapter
4. Article 34 TFEU and Certain Selling Arrangements
This chapter discusses the following: market circumstances rules and Article 34 TFEU; the decision in Keck and its application to cases of ‘certain selling arrangements’; and the ramifications of this ruling, particularly in respect of those rules that did not fit the category of certain selling arrangements. It also considers the relevance of the Trailers case and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29, both of which have narrowed the areas to which Keck applies still further.
Chapter
11. Free movement of services: the freedom to provide and receive services
This chapter examines the law on the free movement of services in the European Union. It discusses the service economy and the law on services; non-discrimination and the direct effect of Article 56 TFEU; the meaning of services; remuneration; economic services and other activities; services and cross-border activity; the freedom to provide a service; the freedom to receive services; health care provision; services that move where the provider and recipient do not; limitations on services freedom; public interest grounds limiting the freedom of Article 56 TFEU; proportionality; illegal services; the focus on market access and the Services Directive.
Chapter
8. Equality and Non-Discrimination
Daniel Moeckli
The principle of equality and non-discrimination has gained a prominent status in virtually every liberal democratic state as well as in international law. However, what this fundamental rule entails in practice is difficult to establish. The challenge is to give substance to the abstract notion of equality by translating it into concrete legal formulations that clarify which forms of unequal treatment are legitimate because they are based on morally acceptable criteria and which ones are wrongful. This chapter explains how this challenge has been addressed in international human rights law. It first discusses the meaning of equality and non-discrimination and gives an overview of the different norms guaranteeing equality and non-discrimination in international human rights law, followed by an explanation of the concepts of direct and indirect discrimination. The chapter then considers the requirements for a difference in treatment to be justified under international human rights law and sets out the various obligations that the right to equality imposes on states, in particular their duty to take positive action to ensure everyone can enjoy that right.
Chapter
5. Discrimination at work, prohibited conduct, and enforcement
Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter focuses on the provisions of the Equality Act 2010. Applicants for jobs must not be asked about their health or disability in the recruitment process. Prohibited conduct refers to direct and indirect discrimination, harassment, and victimisation. Segregation on racial grounds is also prohibited. In addition, there is no minimum period of employment needed before one can make a discrimination claim.
Chapter
7. Freedom of establishment and freedom to provide and receive services
Matthew J. Homewood and Clare Smith
This chapter focuses upon Article 49 TFEU and the Freedom of establishment and Article 56 TFEU and the freedom to provide services. The chapter explores the meaning and scope of the concepts including application to both natural and legal persons alongside an analysis of the content of rights afforded and the equal treatment provisions therein. Consideration is also given to derogations to the freedoms on the grounds of public policy, public security, and public health (Articles 52 and 62 TFEU) and the official authority exception within Articles 51 and 62 TFEU.
Chapter
29. International human rights
This chapter outlines the emergence of human rights in the sphere of international law and organization, and discusses the sources of human rights standards, non-discrimination and collective rights, the scope of human rights standards, and the regional protection and enforcement of human rights.
Chapter
29. Terrorism
Martin Scheinin
This chapter first addresses the question of whether terrorism constitutes a violation of human rights, or whether the notion of human rights violations can only be applied to action by states, and then considers challenges to the applicability of human rights law in the fight against terrorism, particularly since 9/11. It focuses on the notion of terrorism, and in particular the risks posed to human rights protection by vague or over-inclusive definitions of terrorism. The main section of the chapter deals with some of the major challenges posed by counter-terrorism measures to substantive human rights protections. It is argued that the unprecedented post-9/11 wave of counter-terrorism laws and measures that infringed upon human rights was a unique situation, and that governments and intergovernmental organizations are realizing that full compliance with human rights in the fight against terrorism is not only morally and legally correct but is also the most effective way of combating terrorism in the long term.
